I’m trying to grow in my faith and running into hard questions
I am a cradle Catholic but wasn’t catechized very well. A dear friend went through OCIA and was confirmed on Easter and I’m so impressed with their knowledge on the faith which is inspiring me to get closer to God too.
Now this post is coming after reading things like we can’t attend same-sex weddings because it would be seen as approving of it. But you can go to their reception to support them as a friend? How can you be honest with an SSA friend about not attending their wedding AND then think you’d be able to go to their reception? Is it just the internet or is there really a way of expressing this that isn’t going to get one labeled as hateful?
Another example is contraceptives- we’re not supposed to use them and instead be open to life. Also that sex is specifically for husband and wives, so we don’t approve of casual sex (but people do it anyway, and that makes me a prude). If I don’t support abortion because we believe murder is objectively wrong, again, people will say I’m a bigot or I don’t want women to have rights, et cetera (I am a woman)
Obviously not everyone is going to agree with Catholicism or Christianity in general, I’m just wondering how other people in the faith navigate today’s social situations. I would think that we’d just grow closer to others in the church, but I’m also worried about closing myself off to other people in different walks of life or cultures. Also, while I’m not a parent yet, I do worry about “sheltering” my future children or teaching them to be avoidant of others that are different. How do you balance these things?
ETA: thanks in advance, and tl;dr the concept of moral relativity is making things confusing for how I should live in the world.